What if His People Prayed

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Psalms 138:3 “As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.”

I have been filled with faith that this is the words that I should pass along to you today; words on PRAYER!!! I know that each of us know that we should pray, but do we really know the ins and outs of prayer? I am not claiming to be a pro at this myself, but one thing I have learned to be better at is my prayer life.

God has really transformed me over the last six months and He is challenging me to step out in faith and stretch, to grow, and to lean on Him more. It has not been easy and it is not always fun, but the lessons He is teaching me, the love His is showering me with, the growth that is happening is truly remarkable.

Because none of really knows where each of us are on the spiritual walk that God has us on I thought we should just get right down to the nitty gritty. What is it about prayer? Why do we feel so close to God when we pray? Since we do experience that closeness, then why do we willingly walk away from prayer time with Him? Is it the busyness of life? Is it our own refusal to admit our sins? Is it just plain ole disobedience, or are we so filled up with the “other” things in our life that prayer time just becomes “one more thing to do”?

It is my prayer that this “Road Map of Prayer” will help you get back to the one on one time with God that He deserves and your soul craves…

Who should pray?
Each and every one of us…as His children we have been blessed to have a “relationship” with Him. In Billy Graham’s book “The Journey” he said this about prayer… “Prayer is a gift from God’s hand just as much as the Bible, and He has given us the privilege of prayer because He loves us and wants our fellowship.”

What do you pray about?
Everything! There is not a single solitary thing that you couldn’t pray about. Prayer can cover all things…small decisions, big choices, changes, your marriage, your kids, your health, everything…if it happens in your life IT IS IMPORTANT TO GOD!!! Why, because YOU are important to God.


Matthew 21:22 – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Are you a worrier? Do you tend to stress and get anxious? (I know I can) Then pray about it…

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When do you pray?
I had a wonderful analogy one time from a great Pastor friend of mine (thanks Pastor Dan) where he said that “from the minute I wake up I start the day with ‘Dear Heavenly Father’ and when I get ready to close my eyes for bed that night I say ’Amen’.” He said his entire day was one giant run-on prayer with God. You know what…I do the same thing. What he said had such an impact on my (that was over 10 years ago) that I decided to “adopt” that philosophy as my own. The entire day is God’s why not offer him praise, prayer, and thanksgiving throughout the entire day, not just the 15 minutes that we set aside as Quiet Time?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 – Pray Continually

Where do you pray?
I can’t think of a single place that I haven’t prayed. In car line, at the foot of the cross, in my quiet room, in my chair, in my car, in bed, in the shower, you name it…at some point or another a prayer has been shot up to heaven there. I love the analogy of “bullet prayers”…throughout the day you don’t have to have a “reserved quiet time or place” to pray, just send up prayer arrows to God…He’s gets every single one!!!


Why should you pray?
Billy Graham says that, “Prayer is not an option but a necessity.” He then goes on to say that we need to pray because “The reason is because the Christian life is a journey, and we need God’s strength and guidance along the way.”

1 John 5:14 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

How do you pray?
With praise and thanksgiving you simply come before God and have a conversation. It’s that simple. You do not have to be a Bible scholar or have some profound words for God, He is after all God, He knows everything and loves you anyway. Simply and humbly come before Him and seek to spend time with Him. That’s it. It couldn’t be any easier. The crazy and awesome thing about it though is this…the Creator of the Universe, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords wants to spend time with YOU!!!

That’s it…He wants you to come to Him with everything, and that is such a wonderful gift. Embrace it, Enjoy it, and Make it a part of who you are each and every day.

Praying With You Today,

11 Comments

  1. I am always encouraged and inspired by your posts Mel and this one was great too. Last night I was directed to Phil – do not be anxious etc, which is to be my Memory Verse this coming week.

    Often I hear folk put out prayer requests with the question ‘For those that pray…’ and I feel myself thinking – hey we are ALL mean’t to pray.

    I’ve been involved in the Intercession Ministry for a number of years now in various forms and I was staggered by the amount of people who would want prayer and an answer for their ‘future’ – felt so wrong from some as in, I won’t pray – get the “intercessors, or people who pray to do that” and also sounded like using the Intercessors as Mediums and that made my flesh crawl.

    You so rock. I can just sense that you are going through heaps of changes and it’s a very different polished and honed Mel that is coming out and being prepared for something that will exite and bless your heart.

  4. Very Good Mel, We all need to pray, some feel very inadequate to do so. I find this with some of my biker gals, and where ever I go. We just need to talk to Him as He is here, pretty simple huh? well in time as we are in His word we learn to pray His word back to Him. Great post my friend:)

  6. Thanks for commenting on my blog. I enjoy reading yours. I am encouraged by the way you use the web to witness. God bless you.
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  7. Thank you so much! I need to remember just how important & powerful prayer is.
    Your blog has been a blessing to me, thank you Mel 🙂

  8. Great encouragement! Thank you.
    It’s kind of slow in the bloggy world isn’t it? I’ve been awful busy too so I guess we all are!

    Hugs,
    Sue

  9. Those are great words. I think I learned the most about prayer was when I read Frank Peretti’s books – This Present Darkness. There’s an awful lot of power in prayer.

  10. I need help in this area and need to lay things down in prayer more often. But! I have started leaving the radio off on the drive to work in the morning and instead, I pray. It’s been remarkable. Talk Radio with God!

  11. So necessary! I think I will spend all the rest of my life learning about prayer. Because our understanding grows of WHO God is, and what His heart is, & what role we play in the business of the kingdom. It’s mind boggling, thrilling and humbling what is available to us, and that’s a great questions you ask, as to why we don’t more readily avail ourselves of this honor…

    Thanks for this exhortation, Melissa! Love what God is doing in you!

    xoxo,
    Maria

    P.S. loved this “the one on one time with God that He deserves and your soul craves…” Truth!

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